White Knight
by Keltrik
Summary: After Lord Jiraiya dies, Naruto is forced into the role his adoptive father once had. Given a white knight to protect and defend him at all costs, Naruto ends up with the most peculiar of choices. A young woman named Sakura Haruno. - AU/Various pairings.
1. Wild Flowers

**Full Summary: **Lord Jiraiya has died, pushing his adoptive son, Naruto Uzumaki into role as Lord of Konoha. Will the still young Naruto be able to keep his kingdom together, avoid war, and provide for his people the way his father did? Sakura Haruno was appointed to be Naruto's white knight, to stay by his side at all times to protect him by any means. Will she be able to keep her oath to the kingdom that raised her when the village the bore her becomes a great foe? Can she withstand the pressure that comes with her new title? Can she resist the lord?

**A/N: **Got the idea from the song "The Voice" by Celtic Woman. I originally planned it in my head as a fem/fem thin but I decided to make it a fan fiction and changed the roles around. Naruto is about 17, and Sakura is about the same. Hope you like it, guys!

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**White Knight**

Chapter One: Wild Flowers

A grey horse began to come over the hill, the sun just beginning to set behind him. A young blonde boy stood beside a deep grave, eyes fixed forward staring intently at the horse coming over the hill. People began to weep as the large coffin being pulled rolled over the hill. Naruto averted his gaze from the coffin quickly and stared at his feet where wild flowers still set with drops of water from that afternoon's rain.

When the horse had stopped just beyond the grave; the coffin parallel to the hole, it was only then that Naruto lifted his head bearing the bravest face he could muster.

As the knights began to lower the coffin into the ground, a young woman, TenTen, began to sing a sad song, her voice shaky as she tried to hold back her own tears. Naruto bent down and picked one of the flowers growing by the cross and looked down into the hole. Once TenTen had finished her ballad, Naruto looked out at the crowd of mourners and cleared his throat.

"My people, my father, he had once told me that he did not wish anyone to mourn his death but to rejoice as he has begun his blissful retreat to the afterlife and that we, as a whole can overcome anything that may come as a result of his death. We are a strong kingdom, and I believe his words whole-heartedly. Jiraiya was a great man.

"So tonight, my subjects, my people, my friends... we will all feast like kings!" Naruto declared. The crowd began to clap, unable to cheer over the loss of their lord but found comfort in his son's words.

Naruto turned to the grave and knelt down, bowing his head deeply. After a small prayer for the deceased, Naruto took the flower he'd been holding and placed it on top of the grave. When he stood again, shoulders squared he looked back at the crowd, all still kneeling. A shadow of a smile passed over his lips seeing how loyal his people were to his father.

The knights who'd lowered the coffin bean to fill the grave with soil, they themselves trying to keep their tears back. Once the grave was filled in and properly pact down, the crowd began to silently disperse. Naruto remained standing over the grave as children placed their flowers in the soil. He offered each of them a smile as they didn't seem to know exactly what had occurred.

The crowd slowly disappeared, leaving Naruto alone in the twilight. He continued to stare at the cross at the top of the grave intently. A white haired man came back over the hill, Kakashi Hatake; giving the blonde a sympathetic look as he walked around to Naruto's side.

Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You were strong today," said Kakashi.

"Thank you." Naruto replied to his teacher quietly.

Kakashi sighed slightly, "Naruto, I'm proud of you for being strong – for your people but... it's okay for a knight to cry."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he took what Kakashi had said in. "I'm not a knight, Kakashi. I am the Lord now... the King of Konoha..."

"Even King's cry," Kakashi replied wisely, "I know Lord Jiraiya did."

"My father cried?" Naruto asked, wanting clarification.

"Of course he did, it's a human reaction to—" Kakashi was unable to finish his well-planned speech as Naruto crumbled to his knees and began to sob. Kakashi smiled to himself beneath his mask and knelt down, placing a hand on Naruto's back.

"It's going to be alright, _my lord..._"

* * *

Naruto awoke the next morning in a slight haze, possibly from all the wine he'd consumed. Recalling yesterday's unfortunate events, Naruto sighed and buried his face in his pillow. Perhaps he could remain in bed for the rest of... forever.

No such luck as a sharp rap came at his door before the morning callers let themselves in. Naruto looked over despite his better judgement to pretend his was still asleep. A familiar abnormally large-chested woman stood by the foot of his bed with her hands planted on her hips.

"Rise and shine, princess," Tsunade said loudly before grabbing the blankets covering Naruto and tore them off, throwing them to the ground. Naruto yelped and grabbed a pillow to cover his shame.

"L-Lady Tsunade!" Naruto stammered, "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Wake up call. You have business to get done today." Tsunade said, "Now get dressed fast, people are waiting."

Naruto pulled himself off the bed, still clutching the pillow that was keeping him decent. "I have business the day after my father's funeral!? That's unheard of!"

"Is not." Tsunade countered.

"What? Yes, it is!"

"Even if it is, I don't give a rat's ass. Get your clothes on; we have to have a knighting ceremony." Tsunade said bluntly before leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. Naruto huffed to himself and put the pillow back on his bed, walking begrudgingly to his wardrobe.

After getting dressed and washed, he gave his bed a final fond glance and left the room with a sigh. He was immediately taken by the arm and yanked down the hall by the infamous blonde woman.

"Lady Tsunade! Unhand me!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to free himself of the woman's grasp.

"No! We're late as it is! Get your ass in gear, blondie!" Tsunade growled, yanking Naruto down two flights of stairs and into the ceremonial hall. A crowd of people had gathered into the hall, and they all bowed the moment he entered.

Taken aback a bit by the goings-on, Naruto found himself in a rare predicament. He was speechless. Tsunade pushed him forward to the platform at the front of the room and then hauled Naruto onto said platform. "My people, I give you Lord Naruto Uzumaki!" Tsunade declared grandly as the room erupted with applause.

Two knights came forward holding different tools, the first was Shikamaru Nara, who bowed to Naruto and handed him a long sword. Naruto took the weapon, recognizing it as Jiraiya's. The second came forward, Rock Lee, and he handed him an elegant set of royal attire for him to now wear to events.

Naruto took the sword and gingerly replaced his old sword with it in his holster, then handed the clothes to one of his chamber-maids. Naruto was still speechless as he looked down to Tsunade for guidance as to what he should do. Tsunade rolled her eyes and stepped up to the platform next to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will now introduce to you the lord's white knight!" Tsunade declared. On cue, a knight bearing stark white armour entered the room — helmet on. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he remembered Jiraiya's white knight, a large, amazingly strong man that had always looked out for Jiraiya, and had in face died defending him. Naruto was shocked that he'd be allowed one.

The knight came forward and knelt before him, hand placed against his breastplate. Naruto blinked and Tsunade nudged him, he glanced at her and she quickly mimed knighting someone.

Naruto nodded quickly and drew out him sword, he held it up and Tsunade began mouthing the words he was to say. "I dub thee, white knight of Konoha to myself, Lord Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said, touching both the knight's shoulders with his sword. "You may rise and remove your helmet, good sir knight."

The knight got to his feet, standing perfectly erect and raised his hands to his helmet. After two minutes of Naruto building the man up in his mind, his mind was set on how he'd look. The knight finally was able unhitch his helmet and lifted it, revealing not a beard, nor a moustache, nor a thick manly unibrow...

Pink hair fell down, framing the knight's delicate face; bright green eyes settling on Naruto's face and a smiled spread across the knight's face, "My lord. I am no sir, I am Dame Sakura Haruno, at your service." She bowed once again.

Naruto's eyes were as wide as dinner-plates as his mind began to race. "W-w-w-wait just a s-second here... I can't... you're a... but his... and you... but you..." Naruto couldn't seem to get out anything his mind was screaming.

Sakura rose her head again, "Pardon me, my lord?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"But you're a woman!"

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**A/N: **If there's ever something you shouldn't say to a female knight... that'd be it. Hope you like the first chapter! R&R please! 3


	2. Women

Chapter Two: Women

As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, he knew he'd made a very grave mistake. The crowd fell into silence and the sound of the vein on Tsunade's forehead throbbing became predominant throughout the room. Naruto immediately began to backtrack.

"W-what I mean is th-that... uh... that is to say that... I'm simply surprised that a female knight could... uhm... overcome the prejudice in the world and rise to such a high position... n-not that I'm surprised because it's surprising you could do it... I'm... I'm humbled by the presence of such a fair knight..." Naruto spoke very quickly and erratically, and then bowed his head to the pink-headed dame.

Sakura blinked several times before she smiled, deciding to swallow the obvious bullshit. "Thank you, my lord."

Naruto raised his head again to see that she was genuinely smiling, he wiped the nervous sweat from his brow and smiled back. He was too afraid to look at Tsunade, who was sure to kick his ass later. He cleared his throat and looked at the crowd who began to applaud. Whether they were applauding Sakura Haruno's accomplishment or Naruto's amazing impromptu speech remained a mystery.

After Sakura took a bow, the crowd began dispersing. Naruto breathed a small sigh of relief, then turned to step down from the podium only to run smack into Tsunade. He jumped a bit and stepped back, "L-Lady Tsunade...?" He offered a smile.

Tsunade no longer looked very angry, more bemused. Seeing this, Naruto cautiously stepped towards her and slipped around her, making it down he assumed he was in the clear. When from behind he was smacked hard in the back of the head; "Think before you speak, fool!" Tsunade growled before turning and leaving.

Naruto gingerly rubbed the back of his head; she was much stronger than she looked! Dame Sakura walked over and bowed her head, "My lord."

Naruto looked down at her, despite the manly armour she was still female underneath. Seeing as she'd played along with him, Naruto offered her his hand. "Congratulations." He smiled.

Sakura stood erect once more, then took his hand. "Thank you, my lord." She said sweetly. Naruto suddenly noticed that she was beginning to squeeze his hand tighter and tighter, and it was becoming quite painful.

"Uh... D-Dame Sakura..."

"Lady Tsunade is right, you should think before you speak. Especially when speaking about those who are supposed to protect you," Sakura's eyes had darkened, their innocent sparkle gone. Even Naruto noticed this as she freed his partially crushed hand.

"R-right... I apologize." Naruto said.

"That goes unsaid, my lord," Sakura smirked, "Now, will you be returning to your quarters to change your clothes?"

"Why would I change clothes? I just got dressed! Is there something wrong with it...?" Naruto said, wondering if as a woman she saw something wrong with his ensemble that he hadn't seen.

"No, not at all," Sakura smiled, "It's just that your pit-stains have become quite noticeable. You sweat a lot when you're nervous?"

Naruto blushed and shot his arms straight down. He was unsure of how to respond to the smirking female, so he simply turned and started back to his chambers. Sakura followed him closely, trying desperately to not go into a fit of laughter.

* * *

The rest of the day was quite uneventful. Much to uneventful for Naruto's liking. Signing documents and talking to old people all day wasn't quite up to snuff for what he'd expected being a Lord to be like. He sat down that evening quite ready to be entertained by the weekly joust.

Naruto sat above the rest of the attending citizens, Dame Sakura sitting quite stoically next to him. She hadn't said a word all day since she'd commented on his sweating. Her presence actually made him feel more insecure than it did safe. Naruto, bored since the joust hadn't started yet, looked at her intently until he captured her gaze and asked, "Why do you so seldom speak?"

"Does it bother you, my lord?" she asked.

"Well, a little." Naruto shrugged.

"It was not my intention," she said, trying her best not to smirk as it had full well been her intention.

Naruto scowled slightly. Why did he have to get such a moody, spiteful, young female knight? It had to be Tsunade's doing. Sakura was so much like her. Naruto had decided firmly that Tsunade and Sakura were in cahoots together and trying to slowly drive him insane all before the joust started.

Of course, when the joust did start Naruto completely forgot about his conspiracy theory. And with all the wine he was bound to consume it was unlikely that he would remember the following morning either. As the first match ended Naruto cheered, he always rooted for the knight dressed in red.

As he sat back down, quite pleased, he noticed that Sakura wasn't cheering for anyone. "Dame Sakura," he said, "Why aren't you booing or cheering? It's a tad eerie."

This time, Sakura's intention had not been to make her lord uncomfortable. It was just a perk. "I don't much care for jousting, my lord."

"But you've done it, right?" Naruto asked.

"Of course; all knights do. But after you've experienced a joust firsthand it becomes much less exciting to watch. You find yourself wishing you were on the horse charging towards your opponent at top speed, poised perfectly for the hit. And it's all the more exciting if you land it!" Sakura explained, then noticed that Naruto had a very glazed over look in his eyes. She scowled, "My lord?"

"I think I prefer it when you were silent..." Naruto said with a firm nod, and then turned back to the field.

Sakura's eyes widened, and her fists tightened. If looks could kill, Naruto would be nothing more than red pulp. She took a deep breath and sighed, mentally reminding herself that it was her duty to _protect _the lord, not push him from the jousting balcony and claim he fell accidentally onto a well-positioned pole.

Naruto cheered loudly again as his beloved red knight was successful once more. Not knowing the very horrible bloody thoughts his "white knight" was having about him.

* * *

Some time after the joust and about 9 to 15 glasses of wine, Naruto returned to his chambers and sat on his bed alone. He'd been told to sit where he was and wait. Of course, he'd decided to be defiant and moved exactly one foot to the left. Sakura returned to the room with a sigh, seeing her blitzed lord.

"Where do you keep your night robes, my lord?" She asked, walking to his wardrobe.

"I don't have any." He said with a laugh, "I usually sleep butt-naked."

Sakura cringed at the visuals she'd gotten and pushed them out of her mind quickly. "Well, my lord, since I'll be sleeping in that room there I'd appreciate it if you had some made." She said, dreading the thought of getting up to go to the restroom late at night and seeing _him _naked.

"No, they always chafe my crotch," Naruto slurred.

Sakura sighed, this boy was _not _ready to be a lord. He was still an idiot. At least his father had been able to control his own idiocy somewhat. "I'm sorry, my lord, but you need to wear night robes."

"I don't want to though." Naruto pouted, hiccupping.

With a second aggravated sigh, Sakura closed his wardrobe and turned to him. "My lord, I will be sleeping right there," Sakura pointed to the room conjoined with his. It was much smaller, and only connected to Naruto's room. "If there is an attack, do you really wish me to charge in and see you naked?"

"What are the odds?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty good if you sleep naked every night," Sakura said, walking towards him.

Naruto did a raspberry and fell backwards onto his bed, he was like a child. Sakura rolled her eyes. How in the world did she get stuck babysitting this clod? It must be that he and Tsunade had paired off against her in an attempt to make her miserable! Sakura yanked off Naruto's boots and took his belt off, then hoisted him onto the top of his bed.

A chambermaid passed by and assisted Sakura in removing such things that could kill him while he slept. The only thing they left were his pants. The chambermaid safely tucked him in and Sakura sighed, walking to her own chambers. She removed her armour for the first time since that morning and put on her night-robes, tying back her shoulder-length hair.

Before crawling into bed, she poked her head into Naruto's bedroom; he was still passed out exactly like they'd left him. She pursed her lips and got into her bed. Some lord he'd turned out to be. He was a stupid teenage drunkard at best. Sakura hugged her pillow to her chest.

She was certain that he'd never be a great lord like his father had been.

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**A/N: **Wow, this took me forever to update. Sorry for the long wait! I had this chapter finished a while ago but forgot to post it. Stupid me. To make up for it I'll be posting the second chapter right after this. I feel a bit bad since this one is nothing but character relationship development.


	3. Not High Enough

Chapter 3: Not High Enough

Sasuke Uchiha had always been a man of pride, indulgence, and above all; vanity. He'd been built up so high – in his mind, he was certain that it was his destiny to be lord of Konoha. He'd been denied this simply because his family wasn't of the right nobility.

The Uchiha family was rich, powerful, and influential but they did not rule Konoha. Because of this, Sasuke could never be lord.

Sasuke had not attended the knighting ceremony the morning before, simply because he was moping over a new lord being appointed. Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke was quite familiar with him; a bumbling, clumsy, stupid, horribly over-confident, undeserving dickhead.

But, as if by fate, most of the notable families in Konoha had been called to the lord's home by the previous, Lord Jiriaya. Sasuke assumed that he now had to meet with his much stupider heir. The fool probably didn't even know what awaited him. The meeting would be a perfect time to challenge Naruto's intelligence and worthiness, and make himself, Sasuke Uchiha look like a much better lord.

At least in his mind...

* * *

"Wake up, my lord," A young chambermaid shook his shoulder nervously. Sakura walked into the room, adjusting her armoured gloves.

"He still hasn't woken?" Sakura asked. The chambermaid shook her head and stepped back, allowing Sakura to take over. She roughly grabbed his shoulder and began shaking him. "Wake up, my lord! You have business to attend to today!"

Naruto groaned and buried his head, "I don't want to sign more papers!"

Sakura sighed, "It's not paperwork. You have a meeting with the higher families today; the Uchiha's and the Hyuuga's."

Naruto peaked out from behind his pillows, "Can they come tomorrow?" He asked.

"No, most are already on their way and telling them that you've rescheduled due to a hangover would be impolite, improper, and frankly, stupid." Sakura scoffed, "Now get dressed and come downstairs quickly, if they think you slept in that would cause insult."

"I still don't want to." Naruto groaned.

"That doesn't matter, you _have _to. It's your duty, as it is mine to make sure you do yours!" Sakura said, her tone growing impatient. Naruto recognized her tone from his many years having Tsunade wake him up, so he quickly rose.

Sakura smirked to herself and left the room so he could get dressed in peace. About five minutes later he emerged, looking quite sloppily dressed but clothed nonetheless. Sakura sighed, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and fixed him up. "Really, my lord, you should be able to dress yourself."

Naruto didn't respond, he was too preoccupied wondering how his noble guests would react to his loud, pink-haired female knight. Whom he still wasn't certain was female, considering that he'd only seen her in armour.

Once Sakura had finished fixing him up, she took his arm and lead him down the stairs to a fairly large room with a round table. He took a seat near the window, hoping he could tune out his guests this way. Sakura sighed inwardly as she saw it coming.

Within ten minutes, the Hyuuga family's representatives had arrived. Neji Hyuuga represented the West wing, which was quite a bit less regarded than the East wing, which had sent Hinata Hyuuga as it's representative. Both took their seats, though Neji seemed to want to get right down to business.

"This is highly irregular. Should an older, wiser man not be appointed to the lord's position until Naruto is of a better age?" Neji exclaimed.

"We're still waiting on Master Uchiha," Kakashi, who had slipped in moments ago said.

Neji begrudgingly took his seat quietly, deciding that his oppositions would be much better should he have Uchiha to back them up; though the Uchiha representative was running quite late. "Maybe he decided not to come?" Neji suggested, "Or he forgot."

"No, that's not like the Uchiha. They'll be here." Kakashi said, knowing that they were obviously trying to send a message.

About an hour after the meeting was supposed to have commenced, Sasuke Uchiha entered the room. He didn't apologize for his lateness. He simply took his seat and stared ahead at the person who happened to be across from him, Naruto. "It's about time you showed up, Uchiha." Naruto grumbled.

"You kept everyone waiting with your tardiness!" Neji added, infuriated that he hadn't thought to show up late as well.

Sasuke scowled, "You're holding it up further by complaining. Can we get on with this?" he asked.

Naruto glared back, but nodded. "Yes, let the questions begin." He waved his hand dismissively and got prepared to tune out the yelling and annoyed shouting. Sakura, who was standing behind him also prepared herself for any remarks that could be directed at her.

"I'd like to start by restating what I said before Master Uchiha arrived; Naruto is much too naive and young to be lord of Konoha! He should step down and allow a more mature person to take over until he is of age!" Neji spoke loudly, making his younger cousin cringe.

Naruto was unfazed, "The last thing these people need right now is an unstable government. If I step down they'll question my leadership forever. Not to mention the distrust that may come by randomly appointing someone, because as I see it there are no likely candidates aside from Kakashi Hatake and Lady Tsunade."

"This argument is irrelevant." Sasuke spoke up, "It doesn't matter that Naruto is young, or naive. It matters that another kingdom may see this and jump at the chance to attack. We need more army enforcement!"

"That's the last thing we need!" Neji shouted back.

Naruto had, of course, tuned them both out and was currently watching two knights patrol a tower outside the window. Sakura was paying attention to their arguments, however, and was hard-pressed to not interject. After seeing that Naruto wouldn't respond unless he was addressed directly, she began to speak. "The military is the strongest out of all the kingdoms. Everyone knows that. Besides that, only a foolhardy coward would attack during a regime change.

"Even Suna knows that military force and guarding is always doubled the first month or so while a lord settles into his position. To attack now would be suicide." Sakura explained her opinion as clearly as she could.

Of course though, the men being men didn't hear what she said and only noticed how feminine the lips that spoke were. "Who is this wench?!" Neji asked, horrified that a lower ranking officer would address them so confrontationally.

Naruto was pulled from his daydreams, "Wench?" he asked, "This is Sakura Haruno, my white knight." He spoke unfaltering at first, then realized what he was saying and his voice became noticeably quieter by the time he finished.

"White knight?!" Neji had heard, "The strongest knight in the land is a woman!? We'll be attacked for sure! Is this some kind of a joke?"

Sakura's cheeks turned pink as she restrained herself yet again from pummelling one of the men into a bloody mass of red pulp. Kakashi spoke, however, "I doubt it, Hyuuga. We're know all around for having the strongest military base in the known world. If our strongest knight is a woman, she's bound to be a definite force to be reckoned with and probably not someone you want to be on the wrong side of. Right, Dame Sakura?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment before she nodded, "Right."

Naruto, who hadn't realized how strong Sakura must be looked down at his hand which she'd nearly crushed the other night, he had small bruises from her fingers on either side of his hand. Was she holding back then!? He'd have to watch what he said from now on.

Neji calmed down slightly, "You may be right, Hatake," he said.

"May be?" Sasuke asked, "I doubt the Lord of Suna will interpret a stupid young Lord and a female white knight in a strong way. He may even take it as a challenge, knowing Lord Gaara..."

"Stupid?" Naruto muttered under his breath.

Hinata, who hadn't said a single word since her arrival, decided to speak. "Th-that's not true, Master Uchiha..." Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as she continued, "Lord Naruto is the greatest thing we could have hoped for. Even Lord Gaara knows he'd be well-matched against him..." she blushed deeply and trailed off, sitting back down. Obviously she'd gotten carried away.

"I disagree." Sasuke said bluntly, and then stood. "I've had enough of this meeting of the idiots. Good day." He huffed, and then quickly left the room.

Naruto waited for him to leave and shrugged, "Meeting adjourned then?"

* * *

"Their military is strong, of course. But even steal has a breaking point..."

"That's a very irresponsible way of looking at things, my lord."

"No, it's logic. If you fuck with their minds long enough, they're bound to reach a point of devastation then either surrender, or fight as a weakened army."

Kankurou Sabaku nodded in agreement. "He's right, Temari. Their military strength would be cut in half and the mental state of half the people at least would be very weak. We'd just have to sit back and watch the kingdom fall in on itself."

Temari nodded slowly, "True... but isn't that a bit cruel, even for you, Gaara?"

The Lord of Suna looked up and scowled at her; he chose not to dignify her with a response and turned away again. "Set up the troops to leave in a few days, Kankurou. We'll have Konoha in our palms shortly," an evil smirk washed over Gaara's face.

The Lord of Suna would soon have his revenge.

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**A/N: **The plot thickens. I'm pretty sure the characters were OOC, but I did my best. I hope you're enjoying my story so far!


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